


Into the Woods

by SlytherinSweetheart (Cherrypie62666)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Real World, And immune to Sirius' charms, As slow as I can make it while also not ending up with a 50k fic, Because there will be so much fluff, Conversations with relative strangers, Did I Mention Fluff, Love at First Sight, M/M, Remus is snarky, Sirius is smitten, Sirius would follow that boy to the ends of the earth just to see him smile, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Warm fuzzies and beautiful smiles, Why Did I Write This?, wolfstar, wolfstar fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-16 18:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16500518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherrypie62666/pseuds/SlytherinSweetheart
Summary: Sitting up straight and tall, Sirius smiled at the other man cheekily.  “I don’t know, I’d say I’m starting to grow on you.  I wager you’d miss me if we never had another one of these little banter sessions.”“Hardly,” Remus snorted in response, and Sirius couldn't help but melt into a puddle of warm goo on the spot.  “I barely even recall…” squinting his eyes in mock contemplation, he tapped a finger to his chin.  “What was that name of yours again?  Rufus?  Seamus?  George, perhaps?”“That’s cute,” he informed the other with a laugh.Rising promptly to his feet, Remus dusted off his knees.  “Well, then, ‘that’s cute,’ I’ll be off now.  I can’t say it was a pleasure.  Do refrain from ever coming back.  Cheerio.”  With a tip of his invisible hat, he was gone.Sirius was most assuredly irrevocably in love.





	1. A Second Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> I realized I hadn't posted anything Wolfstar in months. That just will not do. Here is a WIP I have a bit of already.
> 
> Yes, the name was intentionally copied. No, it won't be anything like the production.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack. Maybe.

The woods behind Sirius’ small cottage were his favorite place in the world to spend his free time.  Not for any particular reason, mind you.  The air was simply fresher out there.  The trees were quite treelike, in both appearance and nature.  The ground was, well, usually pretty solid even after a good rain, unless you found yourself walking too close to the marshes a few kilometers away.  Then it was a bit soggy and might ruin your favorite pair of boots.  Everything was serene and peaceful and smelled of moss, juniper, and just a hint of wet earth.  What wasn’t there to like?

That favoritism in no way had anything to do with the fact that it also happened to be the very place he’d first seen his love-at-first-sight in a random encounter one afternoon during a stroll, whereupon they’d shared a fleeting glance through the bushes on opposite ends of a streambank and he had thus returned every single day post hence, searching for the gorgeous bronze-skinned man with bright amber eyes and a head full of messy, honeyed curls.  Certainly not.  That would be mad.

Sirius awoke early Wednesday morning to the sun’s golden rays peeking through the curtains in his usually dark room, and the obnoxiously loud squawk of several birds directly outside the window.  At least, he thought they were birds.  It might have been squirrels screaming from the power lines.  Definitely a woodland creature, of some sort.  It was hard to tell them apart when he was still groggy and half-asleep. 

Grunting out a displeased protest of sorts, he rolled over and burrowed himself even deeper beneath the thick duvet.

The peace had lasted all of five minutes before the phone on his nightstand started to buzz.  Reaching out blindly from the darkness, he attempted to shut the thing up quickly and go back to bed.  After six straight fails and a spilled glass of water later, Sirius begrudgingly sat up, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes.

Of course, by that time the phone wasn’t even ringing anymore.  Since he had a pretty good idea of who it was that was pestering him at nine fifteen on a weekday, and why, chances were the git would call back soon.  If he was correct, he had about ten minutes to get up, find something clean from the pile of crumpled clothing items littering the floor, and place the kettle on the stove.  If he was lucky, he might even get to eat something, too.

After exactly ten minutes on the dot Sirius was busy nursing a steaming cup of much-needed coffee, running through the last minute edits he’d done on his laptop the night before when the vibrations started to hum on the kitchen table.  Without even looking at the caller ID on the screen, he clicked the green button and placed the phone up to his ear, heaving a sigh into the receiver.

“Good morning to you, too, mate,” the voice chirped sarcastically, “and it’s good to know you didn’t fall into a hole and break your leg while chasing after your hallucination.  Or get eaten alive by a bear.  A short text last night would have been nice so I know you’re not dead or something.”

“We’ve been over this, Prongs,” Sirius drawled, frowning as he squinted at the computer screen.  What in the seven hells was he thinking last night?  Was irreverent even used properly in that sentence?  Closing the laptop’s lid, he ran his free hand down his face.  “It wasn’t a hallucination, I actually saw him.  And I’m not going to get eaten by a bear.  There aren’t even any wild bears left in the British Isles.  They’ve all been hunted off long ago.  Short of an attack by a group of rabid Pine Martens, I’m quite safe from death by mauling.”

“Well then the falling thing,” the man snapped, voice going farther away for a moment as the sound of background noise slowly trickled in.  A baby cooed and squealed right next to the mic and he had to pull the phone away from his face to protect his eardrum from permanent damage.  “For all I know, you could be lying in a ditch somewhere unless you tell me that you’re safe and sound each night.  You know how I worry.”

“Sorry, mum.”  Taking a loud slurp of coffee, he set it down, leaning back into the chair with a smirk.  “I’ll try harder to be more considerate of your feelings in the future.”

James sniffed dramatically.  “See that you do, young man.  I have enough stress in my life with Harry getting into everything he sees and attempting to kill himself on a daily basis.  I’d like at least one of my children to act like the responsible adult he pretends to be.”

“Pretends,” Sirius gasped, pulling a piece of long hair over his upper lip and squinting at his reflection in the side of his cup.  Definitely not a good look for him.  “I take mild offense to that!  Why, just last night I stayed up until half past three finishing the revisions on my latest chapter.  I’d say that’s tons responsible.  You should be praising me, not reprimanding my poor decision making skills.”

“I rest my case.  If you didn’t waste your days flouncing through the forest looking for a clear figment of your stunningly active imagination, you’d have plenty of time to finish all of the work you need to at a proper hour.  Just because you’ve decided to hermit yourself out in the middle of nowhere like a crazed mountain man doesn’t mean your agent won’t still kick your arse for missing your deadlines.”

“My agent it a git, anyhow,” he announced, grinning when it caused the other man to growl in response.  It was perhaps his favorite jab, seeing as how James was the one who suggested being his agent, in the first place.  “He sets all of these ridiculous deadlines when he knows very well I work better without constraints.  The prat.”

“I only do that because  _you_  can’t be bothered to-“ James’ voice crackled as the line was riddled with static.  When it finally cleared, his tone had gone from irritation to panic.  “No, Harry!  Stop!  Don’t throw daddy’s ce-“

The call ended abruptly. 

Sirius set the phone back on the table and rose to his feet, stretching arms high above his head and twisting his spine until it gave a satisfying pop.  Shuffling over to the fridge, he pulled out some milk, deciding on a quick bowl of cereal to kick-start his morning.  After all, breakfast was said to be the most important meal of the day.

With his stomach happily filled with both caffeine and nourishment, and his hair pulled back into a messy ponytail to keep it out of his eyes, he grabbed his bag of necessary provisions, slipped on his boots in the entry, and left the house. 

The stream that bordered one edge of his property line sat a stone’s throw away from the front door, surrounded on both sides by a thick smattering of tall trees.  That was the place he’d first seen his mystery man, now four days and twenty-two hours post hence.  Not that he’d been counting or anything.

It was a safe assumption to make that following the bank either direction might bring him back into contact with said beautiful stranger, slim though the chance might have been.  After all, the forest branched out for thousands of acres all around his small plot of land.  Campers and hikers, even hunters, were commonplace in those parts.  Despite that, he was still determined to try.

The weather was mild as he trekked to the edge of the burn, gazing out into the cold, dark water, careful not to get too close to the drop-off.  The stream itself was probably a good meter below where the ground suddenly inclined into a deep ravine, and though it was the beginning of June and thus the warmest time of year they saw, slipping and falling in was perhaps the least pleasant thing he could think of doing right then.  Short of being chased starkers through the woods by a swarm of angry bees.

Trickles of wind danced their way across the trees on the opposite shore, the slight breeze rustling leaves as the branches swayed in tandem.  Sunlight peeked small shafts of light through their gaps and openings, fiery rays splayed out, igniting everything that they touched.  It was captivating to behold, the picturesque scene reminiscent of one from a fairy tale in a children’s book. 

A red squirrel broke the fragile serenity when it bounded through the foliage and scampered up the side of a large aspen, disappearing into the safety of its branches.  Seconds later, a golden eagle swooped down with a sharp cry, snatching up a harvest mouse in its talons and flying off with its prize.

Sirius followed the water downstream along the high bank at a leisurely pace, grey eyes scanning the surrounding area for signs of human life.  At one point, he broke through a dense cluster of bushes and startled an entire mob of roe deer grazing in a clearing.  A few let out sharp barks of surprise as he pressed himself precariously close to the edge of the ravine to avoid being trampled on while they scattered every which way, some even leaping across the three and a half meter gap to the other side with enviable grace.

He stopped for a rest now and then to catch his breath, leaning back against the trunks of trees to guzzle icy sips from his canteen and watch the stream slowly trickle past.  The occasional bird flitted by, but otherwise, the afternoon was woefully uneventful.  Another quiet summer day in the middle of the forest, with nothing and no one around for kilometers, save for the wildlife and various rare species of fern.

Perhaps Prongs was right and he was just wasting his time chasing around figments.  Merlin knows he had better things to do than traverse the same small patches of wood up and down for hours on end in a futile attempt to chance another run-in with a bloke he’d only seen once in his life.  And for a few seconds, at that.  If his mate were around, he’d tell him to stop acting like a lovesick twat and go finish his manuscript before he fell even further behind schedule.

Just as he made to give up and go home, a lilt of quiet laughter floated in from around the bend.  It might have been wishful thinking on his part, but he followed it to its source, peering around a grove of juniper trees and beaming when his hunch proved accurate.

A ray of sunlight broke through the canopy and shone down on the man from behind, highlighting his tawny curls like a halo around his head.  He was sitting at the bottom of the hill on a slight plateau above the water, dangling bare feet over the edge into the gentle current.  Dark lashes fluttered low over his eyes as he swept them back and forth, flipping through the pages of a well-worn paperback and laughing quietly under his breath.

Sirius couldn’t help but be entranced as he shuffled closer, torn between wanting to call out and break the silence or bask in the ethereal sensation a bit longer.  As luck would have it, he didn’t have to decide, the crunch of a branch beneath his booted foot snapping the amber gaze straight up with a jolt of surprise.

Something odd flickered across the man's handsome features, hardening them into a look of pure contempt.

“Sorry,” Sirius mumbled, stumbling out from the obstruction of foliage with a sheepish quirk of the mouth.  “I didn’t mean to interrupt your concentration.”

“I was about done, anyhow,” the other replied tersely in a rolling Welsh accent, retrieving a bookmark from the grass and placing it delicately between the pages. 

He gathered up the rest of his things into a bag and made to rise to his feet but Sirius stopped him before he could so much as move his legs.  “What were you reading,” he blurted out, gesturing toward the novel in question still sat in his lap.  “If you don’t mind my asking.”

A beat of silence passed where it appeared he was highly considering the pros and cons of responding.  Something in his tone of desperation must have won out, in the end, because the man’s lips pursed in irritation but he huffed out a quiet “A Moveable Feast,” and made no other move to leave.

Sirius grinned in relief.  “Hemingway.  A classic.  I’m partial to The Sun Also Rises, myself.  Little bit older, but still a good read.”

“Ah.”

“Isn’t that cold,” he asked, taking a step closer.  “The water, I mean.  I know it’s like nineteen out right now, but you couldn’t pay me to-“

The next thing he knew, he was plunging headfirst into the stream. 

It wasn’t too deep, about waist height, so when he was finally able to, he stood up, breaking through the surface with a splutter and coughing the ice from his lungs.  His return was greeted with the sound of raucous laughter, blinking owlishly over at the other man who was already on his feet, watching the whole spectacle with a sparkle in his amber eyes.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” he murmured, pulling the skin of his lower lip between his teeth to stop it from blooming outward into a giant smile.  The corners of his mouth still sat quirked on either end, giving him a sort of coy expression that did terrible things to Sirius’ heart.

“S’alright,” he breathed, pushing the hair back from his eyes.  The fall must have claimed the tie, because most of it now clung to his cheeks and throat, dripping trails of freezing water down his burning flesh.  “Not something I’d do again, I think.”

“Enjoy the rest of your swim,” the man told him with a wicked smirk, turning on his heel and waltzing into the forest without so much as a second glance.  He hadn’t even bothered to bring along a pair of shoes, so his bare feet were covered in grass and leaves by the time he finally disappeared from sight.

Sirius stood there in the frigid cold for a moment longer, shell-shocked and shivering, trying his best to produce coherent thought. 

Despite the fact he’d made a complete arse of himself in front of the single most beautiful person he’d ever seen in his entire life, he couldn’t be bothered to care.  Not when the sound of melodic laughter still played on repeat in the back of his mind, turning his knees wobbly like a newborn fawn.

It didn’t even matter that it was at his own misfortune, it was still reserved just for him.  As he gazed dreamily at the last place the man had been, an idiotic grin splitting his face, the only thing he could possibly think about now was finding him again.  This time, he’d get the conversation to last more than just a few quick sentences.  After all, he hadn’t even remembered to ask for a name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did indeed say I wasn't going to post this until it was completed in full. Did I listen to myself? No. I did not.  
> I'm hoping that posting it will help me to actually finish it sooner, but we all know how I am. If you don't yet, you'll soon find out. ^^  
> I have a good 8k of this already. Fingers crossed I can pull a Books and Chocolate and finish this bad boy in the next few weeks/months. Feel free to pester me until I do. Please. I need it.
> 
> As always, follow me on Tumblr for more writing updates and stuff!  
> Cherrywrites626
> 
> And never forget. Will work for comments and kudos. Especially comments.


	2. A Brief Misunderstanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a week between updates? What is this sorcery?

Sirius knew he was there again by the sound of quiet laughter, smiling to himself like the lovesick fool that he totally wasn’t.  It had taken another four miserable days of waiting in that same location for the man to finally return, and he wasn’t about to let the opportunity to learn more about him slip through his fingers a second time round.  Who knew how many other chances he’d get?

With a spring in his step, he broke through the trees, taking special care to avoid the place he’d fallen from and plopping down onto a patch of scraggly grass.  

The man didn’t even glance up from what he was doing this time, turning the page of his book with a carefully blank expression.

“New book,” Sirius asked after a beat, already noting the difference in size and color of the cover.  Silence echoed his question long enough to realize an answer would probably never come.

 “Recent, from the look of it,” he continued, completely unphased by the obvious brush off.  “Though I do suppose it could also be a reprint of some classic.”

To his surprise, there was still no response, not even a twitch of the brow to acknowledge he’d ever spoken.

“Read a lot, then?”

“When I have time,” the other finally caved with a curt tone.  After a pause and turn of the page, he added, “Take anymore swims lately?”

“Not yet, but there’s always hope for the future.”  When it didn’t get the immediate response he was looking for, he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.  “That was a joke, of course.”

“Really?  It wasn’t very funny.”

“Tough crowd.  I’m Sirius, by the way.  My name, not my disposition.”  A smirk curled his mouth at his own overused pun.  “What’s yours?”

“Not interested.”

Sirius gave a low whistle.  “That’s gotta be rough.  And I thought my parents were horrible for naming me after a star.”

The corners of the man’s mouth twitched in amusement, amber eyes finally leaving the book long enough to sweep over his person from the top of his head down to his crossed legs.  Clearing his throat, he returned focus to the novel.  “It’s Remus."

“Remus,” he repeated, feeling the way the name danced across his tongue.  A smile broke out over his face, something warm bubbling in his chest.  “I like it.  It’s nice to meet you, Remus.”

Plucking up his bookmark, Remus rose to his feet.  “I can’t say the feeling is mutual, Sirius.”

* * *

 

Sirius was determined.  That was rarely a good thing.

It had occurred to him at some point after their third run-in that he’d yet to get Remus to utter more than five or so responses to his questions before he’d inevitably decide to pluck himself from the conversation.  It was officially his mission in life to change that.  Days had passed since then, but that determination only managed to grow stronger with each one.  On the seventh, he finally got his next chance.

Remus was sat on the edge of the clearing in his usual spot, knees pulled up close to his chest, bare feet crossed at the ankle and caked in ridiculous amounts of dirt.  One of his arms was wrapped around his long legs, the other one holding the newest book he was reading out in front of him with his elbow rested against his thigh.

It was actually kind of endearing, seeing the man so unkempt all the time, and he couldn’t help but bring the subject up as he took his own seat on the opposite shore with a flourish.

“Do you even own a pair of shoes,” Sirius mused aloud with a grin.  “Because I’m beginning to think the answer to that is no.”

Remus clicked his tongue in annoyance, dropping the arm holding the book next to himself in the grass.  “I fail to see how that is any of your business.”

“Is that a confirmation of my shoe-less theory,” he asked, quirking a brow.

The other man pursed his lips.  “I own plenty.  I just choose not to wear them on occasion.  Do you own anything other than shitty band tees and pre-ripped jeans?”

Sirius smiled so hard his cheeks hurt.  “Someone is a bit testy today.”

“Someone annoys me every time I have the unfortunate luck of running into him,” Remus shot back.

“What book this time?”

Silence.

“Oh, come on, Remus.  Would it hurt you to be a little bit friendlier to me?  What have I ever done to deserve so much hostility?”  Sirius batted his lashes flirtatiously, sticking out his lower lip in a sultry pout.

He hadn’t expected it to actually work, so it surprised him to no end when Remus heaved a long-suffering sigh, bookmarking the page and crossing his legs in front of himself in a mirror image of Sirius’ positioning.  “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

“Yeah,” he asked, grinning brightly.  “That’s a good one.  How do you like it so far?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Remus informed him with a pointed look.  “I have yet to be allowed to get past the first chapter.  I’d say I’ll tell you once I finish it, but I’m quite hopeful I won’t have to see you again after this time.”

That was it.  His fifth contribution to their conversation.  If he could make it past that hump, he’d feel like the luckiest bloke in all the country.

Sitting up straight and tall, Sirius smiled at the other man cheekily.  “I don’t know, I’d say I’m starting to grow on you.  I wager you’d miss me if we never had another one of these little banter sessions.”

“Hardly,” Remus snorted in response, and Sirius couldn't help but melt into a puddle of warm goo on the spot.  “I barely even recall…” squinting his eyes in mock contemplation, he tapped a finger to his chin.  “What was that name of yours again?  Rufus?  Seamus?  George, maybe?”

“That’s cute,” he informed the other with a laugh.

Rising promptly to his feet, Remus dusted off his knees.  “Well, then, ‘that’s cute,’ I’ll be off now.  I can’t say it was a pleasure.  Do refrain from ever coming back.  Cheerio.”  With a tip of his invisible hat, he was gone.

Sirius was most assuredly irrevocably in love. 

* * *

 

The next five days were spent hurriedly catching up on his manuscript. 

James had been chewing his ear off about the delays on a daily basis, but the thing that actually got his arse in gear was the threat of him driving up with Harry and spending the next week standing over his shoulder until he finished.  It was a small sacrifice to make for the sake of his sanity, even if it meant the possibility of missing out on seeing Remus, for a short time.

By the time he finally got the okay to leave the house, he was more than a hair frazzled.  The walk down to the usual meeting spot felt further than it had before, the entire journey spent in a continuous state of near panic.  What if the last time they saw one another was actually the last time they ever would?  What if he could have once more, but staying inside had blown it?  What would he do if Remus wasn’t already sitting there on that bank reading another new title with the sun on his skin and his messy curls haloed in light?  He’d go mad.  Probably.

As luck would have it, he was, and Sirius had never been more thankful for anything in his life.  If he had even an iota less self-control, he would have dove into those frigid waters, swam to the other side, and tackled the man on sight.

Remus looked up from his book at the sound of his approach, mouth turning down in the corners in a grimace.  “I’d thought you’d finally left for good,” he groaned. 

“’Fraid not,” Sirius chirped.  “I’ll be around for some time yet.”

“Isn’t there a job or something waiting for you at home that you need to be getting back to,” the man asked him with a scowl.  “Surely you can’t afford to stay in the forest here for the rest of your life?”

“Well, seeing as how I work from home and this is my land so I am already there.  Yes.”  The two locked eyes and Sirius grinned brightly.  “Yes, I most certainly can.”

“No you don’t,” Remus argued, expression turning from regret to confusion.  “Alphard Black owns the land on that side of the stream for acres around.  I’d know, I tried to buy some from him years ago but he slammed the door in my face like the rude old codger he is.”

“Ah, yes,” Sirius agreed with a nod.  “Good old uncle Alphard, always making a great impression with the locals.  But I’m afraid the man is dead now.  He left everything to me when he passed away six months ago.”

“You’re his nephew,” Remus spluttered, looking like he’d just been informed that all the libraries of the world had been burned down and there would never be another book printed for the remainder of time.  “Christ, that’s just bloody perfect, innit?  You’ve got what, fifty more years at least until you inevitably croak?  By that time there won’t be a beaver left in the whole of Scotland.”

Sirius squinted in confusion.  “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say you’re talking about an actual beaver and not something entirely different.  And yet regardless, I fail to see what any of that has to do with me and my lifespan, which you had better believe is going to be long and fruitful if I have any say in the matter.”

“Great.  It would be just my luck there’d be another of you lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce on the opportunity to get rich by hunting an entire species into extinction.”  Rising to his feet, Remus glowered over at him so icily he felt a chill ripple down his spine.  “Do us all a favor, Sirius, and drop dead like your uncle.  That goes double for any other Blacks waiting in line behind you to inherit the family slaughterhouse.”

The man made to leave and Sirius was on his feet so fast he nearly took a second swim in the stream without his consent. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, sliding down the incline and balancing himself precariously at the edge of the water’s surface.  “Hold up just a second there, Remus.  Explain to me what it is you think I’ve done here so I can assure you that you’re entirely mistaken.  Because the only thing I inherited from my horrible uncle Alphard was enough money to make my mother turn a delectable shade of chartreuse when it completely screwed over her plans to see me homeless for the rest of my life, and this shitty little cabin in the woods.”

There was a beat of silence in which neither moved, Sirius curling his hands into tight fists in anticipation of what might happen next.  If it came to it, he would gladly wade across the water to the other side and chase the man until he listened to reason, frozen temperatures be damned.  Clearly, there was some sort of misunderstanding he wasn’t aware of, and it was hurting his image in the other’s eyes.  Anything he could do or say to change that opinion of himself, he would.

Remus huffed a breath and turned around, crossing his arms over his chest.  “Why did you move out here into these woods?”

“Because I wanted the peace and quiet for work.”

“Are you a part of your uncle’s fur trading business?”

“No.  Gods no.  I didn’t even know he had one.”

“Then why did he leave you everything?  And what do you do out here in the middle of nowhere all by yourself?”

“Probably to make my terror of a mother lose her shite,” Sirius replied with a shrug.  “He hated that woman almost as much as I do.  As for what I do for a living, I’m a writer, of course.  I thought that bit was obvious.”

Remus’ stony expression evaporated in an instant, replaced with something smooth and blank.  “You’re a what,” he asked, shaking his head like he didn’t quite hear properly.

“A writer.  You know, of books and things?”

“You.”

It was Sirius’ turn to cross his arms over his chest.  “Is it really that hard to believe that someone like me could be an author?”

“Honestly,” the man replied, the corners of his mouth twitching with amusement.  “Yeah.  It is.”

“What about my knowledge of literature,” he asked with a frown.  “Or the fact I literally live alone in the middle of the woods and still have a source of income?  What else could I have been?”

“Serial killer,” Remus guessed with a smirk.  “Conman.  Stalker.  Murder for hire.  Professional hit-man.  Definitely something to do with needing the privacy and land to potentially dispose of a body.”

“Well now that I know those are options,” Sirius deadpanned and the other man chuckled. 

“So, a writer.  You any good?”

“Probably not,” he admitted truthfully, swiping a hand through his hair.  “Though, that doesn’t mean my books don’t sell like mad.  Anything published under the Potter name tends to fly off the shelves, regardless of quality.”

Remus gave a low whistle of appreciation.  “So you’re big time, then.  I’m surprised I haven’t heard of ya.”

“To be quite honest, I’m glad that you haven’t.  Enough people know my name for one reason or another.  It’s nice to know someone out there looks at me and sees, well, just me.”

“Yes, well.”  Walking over to the edge of the stream, the man sat back down, letting his feet dangle themselves in the icy water.  Setting the book next to himself in the grass, he leaned back on his hands, watching Sirius stand there awkwardly with an amused expression.  “Unless you care to take another impromptu swim, I suggest you go sit.”

“Ah.  Right,” Sirius agreed, turning and scrambling up the side of the bank unceremoniously.  By the time he’d finally struggled his way to the top to take his seat, Remus’ face was alight with a dazzling smile, amber eyes softer than he’d ever seen them.  An embarrassed flush spread itself rapidly across his cheeks, but he cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter.  “So, what book do we have today?”

“The Counterfeiter,” he replied.  “It’s one of my favorites.”

“I’ve never read that one before.  Tell me about it?”

* * *

 

James laughed for a full minute straight when he told him everything later that night whilst eating his supper.

“You would be so unlucky to meet and fall ass over tit for the one person in existence who doesn’t recognize you instantly by your stupid face,” he gasped between guffaws.  “It’s almost poetic justice.”

Sirius let out an indignant huff in response.  “I’m pretty sure he was too busy not looking at me at all to notice much of anything, but thanks for that, Jamie.  You’re a real dear.”

“I can’t believe he was so hostile toward you simply because of your relation to old Alphard,” his mate continued, unperturbed.  “Not because you’re a stalker or an obnoxious git, or anything like that.”

“Oi, I prefer the term healthily obsessed, thank you very much.”  Lifting his fork, he used it to punctuate his sentence.  “And I seem to recall a certain _someone_ showing up at the coffee house seven days a week for two months straight despite the fact he can’t stand anything stronger than a cup of warm milk.”

“A testament to my dedication,” James clarified.

“Right,” Sirius said with a snort.  “I’m sure Lily saw it that way when you finally admitted your little secret.”

“She thought it was sweet,” he defended.

“She thought it was creepy, but by that point, you’d already been snogging for half a year and she was in too deep to back out.”

“My point is, that despite your charm and good looks and the fact I’ve no doubt you used any number of your heartbreaking smiles to essentially woo him, the man was able to resist and stick to his morals.  I think I like him already.  He’s immune to you, at any rate.”

“Remind me why I talk to you?”

“Because you love me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm clearly not in my right mind to post this when I still have yet to finish another chapter, but here we are.  
> That being said, don't get comfortable. I want to keep a one chapter buffer between posts, so this is it until I finish chapter four.  
> Will work for comments and kudos.<3
> 
> Hit me up on Tumblr for the next chapter's sneak - Cherrywrites626  
> Or follow my main - Cherrypie62666


	3. A Stroll Through Unknown Places

Sirius plopped down on his side of the stream with a bright smile, more than a bit ecstatic to see Remus already lying on his stomach with a book set out before him, dirt-caked bare feet bouncing through the air as he read.  What he wouldn’t give to be able to curl up next to the man and admire him from a bit closer, maybe run his fingers through those silky looking locks.  Instead, he contented himself with the view he was allotted.

Remus turned the page with a whimsical sigh, the corners of his mouth twitching with amusement.  When it was perfectly clear Sirius would happily gaze at him for the next hour or more without breaking the silence, his amber eyes flicked up, brow quirking incredulously.

“Now you’re silent as the grave?  Where was that all of the other times I was trying to read without interruption?”

“That was before I got you to quietly accept my company,” Sirius informed him with a flutter of his lashes, pleased that he wasn’t the one to initiate the conversation for once.  “Now I’m trying this thing where I get you to actually enjoy it some.”

“So you’re aware of how obnoxious you can be, then,” Remus quipped, fighting down the hints of a grin.  “And here I thought you were just an oblivious berk.”

“Not at all, I am well aware of my effect on all manner of people.  That’s how I know that despite your gruff outward disposition, you secretly hope I’ll show up every time you sit down, even if only to give yourself something to gripe about later.”

“Quite full of yourself, aren’t you?”

Sirius couldn’t help but chuckle.  “Only where warranted,” he replied with a wink.  “But I’m also decidedly adept at reading people.  What sort of writer would I be if I couldn’t figure out the motivations behind simple actions?”

“Humor me, then,” Remus said as he finally closed the book, lacing his hands beneath his chin.  “What makes you so sure that I don’t despise your company?”

“Aside from the obvious answer that I’m a delight to be around,” he began, waggling his brows suggestively.  It earned him an exaggerated eye roll, which was nothing short of a win.  “If you truly wanted to avoid running into me again, you’d simply find another spot to read.  This forest is a big place and the stream here continues for kilometers in either direction.  I’ve no doubt there are other areas similar to this where you can both enjoy your novel and dip your feet in the frozen waters.”

“And what if I just happened to really like this spot,” Remus countered with a smirk.  “The amount of sunlight is ideal for reading with, not too much or too little, and the walk is none too far from where I stay.  Why should I have to trek through the wilderness searching for another location when this one is already perfect?”

Sirius beamed in response.  “So you admit that your hatred of my company isn’t so strong as to drive you from this place and into another.  See, you do secretly enjoy our little chats.”

“Christ you’re a pigheaded sort,” the man replied with uproarious laughter, shaking his head and crinkling his nose with delight.  The gentle flush of pink that spread over his cheeks left Sirius swooning so hard he thought he might never recover from it.  “You are entertaining, I’ll give you that.  The jury is out on the rest.”

“Well, then,” Sirius breathed as he bit his lip coyly, dropping his tone to an alluring hum.  “I’ll be sure to do my best to make that opinion a favorable one.”

The color of Remus’ cheeks darkened considerably as he averted his gaze and busied himself with running a hand through the grass.  “What sort of books do you write, anyhow?”

“You’re cute when you change the subject,” Sirius teased, chuckling when it earned a glower in response.  “Alright, I take it back.  I’m afraid that information is a trade secret, though.  If you’re that curious, you’ll just have to go look me up to find out.”  He smiled cheekily then, knowing just how big of a trap it was he’d set. 

“If I ever become so desperate, I’ll be sure to let you know,” Remus promised him, opening his book once more and allotting Sirius the pleasure of watching him read quietly for the next hour.

* * *

 

After that, it rained off and on periodically for the next eight days.  Whenever there was a lull in showers that lasted long enough for him to pull on his boots and jacket up, attempting to brave the muddy terrain, the sky would once again turn dreary and he’d have to regrettably turn back before he found himself completely soaked through by the icy torrents.  It wasn’t unusual for Scotland that time of year, but it did put Sirius in a right dour mood.

The first full morning spent without a single drop saw him right back out in those damnable woods, trekking through the soggy mess in the hopes that Remus wouldn’t care as much as he did about a bit of wet earth.  It was by some sweet miracle that he made it the full distance without losing a shoe or having to turn back, but his luck had run out as far as the other man was concerned.  Nobody was waiting for him on the opposite side.  After a good three hours spent skipping stones across the shores listlessly, Sirius finally gave up and went home.

Three phone calls that afternoon to whine to James later, and he’d convinced himself that something had to change.

It was clear by the extent of his stay that Remus wasn’t just some whimsical camper in the woods.  With the way the man seemed to revere the Eurasian beaver, at least enough to fleetingly wish for his swift demise, it was safe to assume he might actually work close by.  Come bright and early the following morning, in buckets of pouring rain or cloud-obstructed sunshine, Sirius would brave the other side of the stream and find the answers to his newest mystery.  Or he would die trying.

With a pack full of questionably nutritionally sparse foods to snack on, in case he _did_ find himself fallen into a hole with no way out, and his well-worn leather to keep out the worst of the biting wind, Sirius set out up the road with a spring in his step.  As much as could be had, when dealing with wet dirt squelching beneath one’s booted feet.

The weather was chillier than usual, the humidity so thick he felt it sinking down through his skin to form permanent ice crystals in his bones.  Frost still covered much of what couldn’t reach the sun’s meager rays, sparkling in the shadows of tall trees like bits of broken glass.  It would be beautiful, if he wasn’t so miserable, questioning his sanity for being up at seven in the morning on a bloody Tuesday, let alone deciding to walk the Scottish highlands with nothing but a hunch to go on.

As it stood, Remus wouldn’t be heading out to their usual spot for four hours.  And that was if he was daft enough to trek through the woods like a loon in six-degree weather.  The man might like to occasionally dip his bare feet into similarly icy water, but that was on a warm afternoon, not one so bloody cold it nipped at your nose like Jack sodding Frost.

It took longer than anticipated to walk the two or so kilometers up the road to the fork that branched out over the burn into government owned lands, the drive down from the main highway on his motorbike having previously taken him less than a minute to reach his new home.  It was interesting to know just how isolated he had let himself become, and in any other instance, he’d be glad for it.  On foot, he couldn’t help but dread the slow walk back and what that meant for his already popsicled toes.

When he finally made it all the way to the place he knew to be the correct spot, he was so grateful for a chance to catch his breath that he plopped down on the edge of the steam where Remus normally sat and panted until his lungs no longer burned.  Thankfully for him, the ground was completely dry by that hour, and far softer than his land boasted.  It made a bit of sense why the other decided to keep coming back despite his continual reappearance, though not enough to convince him that Remus wasn’t genuinely interested in his company.  That was something he’d never believe.

Glancing at his watch, he clocked the hour at half eight.

It didn’t take long for the boredom to set in, even with the stunning new view of the stream’s opposing bank from three plus meters away.  Sirius truly wished to be the kind of person who could sit for two and a half hours in silence without wanting to pull his hair out, but with the prospect of seeing Remus sooner should he chance exploring, it was hard to convince himself to stay put.  In the end, his reckless inner voice won out, reminding himself that Remus might not show up at all, and then he’d have waited hours alone for naught.

Despite being someplace new, the forest looked much the same as it always did.  Logic dictated that was probably a bad thing, seeing as how the terrain was unfamiliar and he might get lost and starve to death before anyone came close enough to hear his cries for help.  But he was nothing if not an obnoxiously stubborn prat, and so long as he refused to walk in any direction without keeping his back pointed fixedly west, it wouldn’t be too hard to find his way to the water, and thus, his own home. 

The path he’d followed up from the bank dead-ended in a large clearing not far off, a semi-circle of four log cabins set up half hidden in the trees, ringing the outer edge to his left.  The ground had been freshly driven on from what he could discern, deep tire tracks etched into the earth, leading away from the center of the clearing out toward the main road.  Fluffy wisps of pure white smoke billowed up from behind one of the cabins, seeping into the sky and merging with the clouds.

For a brief moment, Sirius wondered if he hadn’t stumbled upon some strange band of rural Scottish mountain men living all alone in the middle of the forest.  Perhaps they were the unfriendly sort and would shoot him on sight for trespassing on their land.  If he was smart, he’d turn around and leave, the search for Remus be damned.

That growing fear dissipated the instant a chubby little bloke clad in a hunter green puffer jacket stepped out of the aforementioned smoky cabin, took one look at him standing just on the other side of the trees, and squealed in fright like a little girl.  He made it all of two steps back toward the front door before tripping over his own bumbling feet and went tumbling unceremoniously to the ground.

Without thinking too much about how it could be a well-devised trap to lure him closer, Sirius jogged up the stone walkway, stopping just shy of the groaning man writhing in pain on the small deck.  “All right, there, mate,” he asked, peering around his absurdly padded legs to see if he needed any help.

Wide brown eyes gazed up at him from the center of a tiny face hole in the over-sized hood, the man blinking in surprise before scrambling onto his back an attempting to crab-walk himself to safety.  “Oh, shite.  Oh bugger,” came the muffled, British-accented speech.  “Please don’t gut me and leave my entrails for my coworkers to find in their beds or anything of that nature.  If you must kill me, do make it quick.”

“Coworkers,” Sirius parroted with a frown.  Glancing down, the familiar sight of a ranger’s badge sewn to the arm of the man’s green coat caught his attention, the words on it reading Loch Laggan giving him the answer before it could be addressed.  “Ah.  You’re a ranger.  Well, hate to break it to you, chap, but I’m not the killing type.  Sorry.”  Reaching out a hand, he offered to help the poor, overstuffed bloke to his feet.

“Oh,” was all the man replied with before lifting one gloved claw and gladly accepting.  With a bit of effort on his part, he managed to stand, hissing in pain when he shifted some of his weight onto his right ankle and then back into Sirius’ shaky hold.  “Christ, that smarts,” he muttered under his breath, tugging off the hood to reveal a doughy, pallid face scrunched up in agony.  “And just after I got it all healed up, too.  Re isn’t going to be too happy about missing more work on my account...”

“You don’t happen to mean Remus by any chance, do you,” Sirius asked, tilting his head to the side.

Brown eyes snapped over to narrow up at him in mistrust.  “Why?  Who is asking?”

“Sirius Black.”

A look of recognition spasmed on the man’s face, lips instantly curling themselves into a rather attractive smile.  Attractive for a giant walking marshmallow, that is.  “Ah, so you’re the one he goes off to meet.  The writer, yeah?”  Swiping back some of the mussed blond fringe from his face, he beamed.  “I’m his coworker, Peter.  Pettigrew.  He’s mentioned you quite a lot, especially considering the recent storm and whatnot.  Won’t admit it, but he was more bummed he couldn’t get over there than that work had to be put off for over a week.  That’s where he is now.  Work.  Were you supposed to meet up or something?”

“Er, not exactly,” Sirius admitted with an embarrassed flush.

Peter’s smile grew even wider in response.  “I see.  Got lonely waiting for him, eh?  Well, if you walked all this way from your property it would be a shame not to get to see him.  I was supposed to head back down with the car after I grabbed a few things here, but I can’t exactly drive now that my ankle is all messed up again.  You’d be doing me a favor if you helped out.  Remus, too.”

“You were seriously going to drive dressed like a walking cream puff,” he asked the man with an incredulous quirk of the brow.  “And here I thought you were on your way to holiday in the Alps.”

Peter’s pale cheeks turned an adorable shade of bright red, not unlike an apple.  “I don’t fancy the cold,” he defended.  “Today has been a lot colder than most.”

“Sure your mother wasn’t half marshmallow,” Sirius quipped cheekily.

“Not that I know of.  She’s definitely half Welsh, though.”

A grin split his face in response, suddenly liking this Pettigrew bloke quite a bit for his ability to roll with the punches and not splutter or scowl like a sensitive twat.  James would have liked him, too, for his unassuming baby face that no doubt would get him out of trouble nine times out of ten simply because it was impossible to believe such a tiny cinnamon roll was responsible for any and all wrongdoing.  The chaos the three could have gotten up to back at school…

Wrapping an arm around his fluffy shoulders, Sirius gave the bloke his most dazzling smile.  “You know what, Pete?  I think I’ll take you up on that offer.  While we’re loading up, what say you tell me a little bit more about what it is that you do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curse my inability to keep my word!  
> On the plus side, I have 900 words typed of the next chapter as a buffer. Seeing as how these babies keep ending at around 2.5k, that's nearly halfway done. On the down side, that is all stuff I already had when I posted the last chapter. Whoops!
> 
> Everyone has been patient enough for me to do this now. Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate that. Happy random Thursday if you don't. ^^
> 
> As always, hit me up on Tumblr - Cherrywrites626

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at me until I finish this.


End file.
